This Love is What I Never Got From You
by Swiftchanted
Summary: All those memories were gone. And even though history was the one thing she couldn't stand, she was actually finding a new liking for it. Rayella, but mainly Starlie. Oneshot.


**Hello friends, lovers, fans, strangers! Welcome to yet another crazily planned out oneshot by yours truly! I'm so nice, huh? Yeah, I know, you ain't gotta tell me ;) This is dedicated to ALL of my Starlie fans. Each and every one of you. You don't know how excited and tingly I feel when I see people showing the Starlie love! Never thought people would like my whole little fan name thing…but hey, apparently it works, so yeah! Anyways, I'm excited for you all to read this! It's gonna SHOW YOU GUYS that Starlie is the real freaking deal. Yeeeeaaah buddy.**

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><p>"Ray, please!"<p>

Stella Yamada followed after the blonde teenager like a lost puppy, grabbing his arm and trying to get his attention.

"Let go of me, Stella!" he growled. He tried to shake her loose, but Stella held her ground. She jerked on his arm once more.

"Ray, stop!" Ray whirled around.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to listen to me!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm your girlfriend, Ray!"

"Was my girlfriend."

Stella felt her jaw drop, and she just stared at him. "Wha-what makes you say was?"

"Stella, let me explain this to you. You're hard headed. I'm hard headed. There is no way that we will ever get this…relationship to work. We might have a chance as friends, but as a couple? Let's face it; we'd end up killing each other!"

"You haven't even given a hundred percent, you'd never know if we'd work because you don't even try!"

Ray held out his hands as though he was advertising the two of them to strangers. "This is exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't think you want to even try!"

Ray sighed. "We're fire and gasoline, okay Stella? I'm no good for you, and you're no good for me." Stella could feel her eyes well up in tears, and she did the only thing that seemed appropriate at the moment. She reared her hand back and slapped Ray in the face.

"And to think that I thought we actually had a chance," she hissed; her voice so dangerously low that it was frightening. Her eyes were gleaming with tears, and Ray just stared at her as she stormed off into the night, as aroused and hot as fire and silent as the wind.

Ray Beech, the egocentric jerk that fronted Mudslide Crush, and Stella Yamada, the rebellious firecracker that founded Lemonade Mouth, had always butted heads. But one night changed pretty much everything for the two of them. It had started as a hindrance for the both of them, working on a school project together, but when the two of them found themselves making out on Stella's couch, everything took a different turn from there.

Stella was the one who really wanted their relationship to work. The band didn't really seem to approve of the relationship, but they all plastered on their fake smiles and pretended to be happy for Stella. No one had ever seen Stella this happy, or in love, so they all did their parts and just faked it.

Enter Charlie Delgado. He had been turned down by his first what felt like love, Mo Banjaree. And when he saw his best friend sucking face with what was supposed to be her worst enemy, he felt something stronger than hate or jealousy. It was almost abhorrence. He didn't want to see Stella get hurt, that was all. Ray had a reputation, and it wasn't a very good one either. So when he saw Ray making out with Jules, he was extremely furious.

Stella, being the lovesick teenage girl she was, didn't believe Charlie. She had shrieked at him, "If you really are my best friend, you wouldn't make up all these lies! I know that none of you are accepting of mine and Ray's relationship, but it'd be nice if you pretended like the others instead of trying to get me to break up with him! If you weren't my best friend, I would have thought you were jealous of me and Ray!" Charlie had just shaken his head, and murmured, "When he hurts you, don't come crying to me."

So now Stella had nowhere to go. There was no way she could go home now, because she knew if she did, she'd just flounce on her bed and cry into next Thursday. So she went the one place she knew she'd be okay-the music hall.

Mrs. Reznik had given each of the band members keys to the music hall, and told them that they could use the music hall whenever they wanted since they were the reason it existed in the first place. Stella knew that no one would find her there, and she could just vent. It was what she needed to do. So she began to run down the sidewalk to the school, the cold night air tearing up her eyes even more than they already were from the crying.

She shakily opened the back door, and with a loud suction cup like sound, the door opened. Stella walked through the back part of the stage, and saw that the baby grand was sitting out in the middle of the stage. Walking out to the stage, she took a shaky breath as she cut on the lights. She could see out into the dark auditorium- nothing but rows and rows of empty chairs. She walked out slowly to the center of the stage, and closed her eyes.

She pressed one key, and she listened quietly as it echoed out into the empty auditorium. She took a deep breath, and began to sing.

_I let it fall, my heart,__  
><em>_And as it fell, you rose to claim it__  
><em>_It was dark and I was over__  
><em>_Until you kissed my lips and you saved me_

_My hands, they're strong__  
><em>_But my knees were far too weak__  
><em>_To stand in your arms__  
><em>_Without falling to your feet_

_But there's a side to you__  
><em>_That I never knew, never knew.__  
><em>_All the things you'd say__  
><em>_They were never true, never true,__  
><em>_And the games you play__  
><em>_You would always win, always win._

_But I set fire to the rain,__  
><em>_Watched it pour as I touched your face,__  
><em>_Well, it burned while I cried__  
><em>_'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!_

Stella couldn't hear the front door to the auditorium open and close quietly as she immersed herself into the song.

_When I lay with you__  
><em>_I could stay there__  
><em>_Close my eyes__  
><em>_Feel you're here forever__  
><em>_You and me together__  
><em>_Nothing gets better_

_'Cause there's a side to you__  
><em>_That I never knew, never knew,__  
><em>_All the things you'd say,__  
><em>_They were never true, never true,__  
><em>_And the games you play__  
><em>_You would always win, always win._

_But I set fire to the rain,__  
><em>_Watched it pour as I touched your face,__  
><em>_Well, it burned while I cried__  
><em>_'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!_

The darkness of the auditorium didn't show that Stella had an audience now, instead of having an invisible one. The person just sat there, listening as Stella sang, and chills ran down their spine as Stella continued on with the song.

_I set fire to the rain__  
><em>_And I threw us into the flames__  
><em>_Well, it felt something died__  
><em>_'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time!_

_Sometimes I wake up by the door,__  
><em>_That heart you caught, must be waiting for you__  
><em>_Even now when we're already over__  
><em>_I can't help myself from looking for you._

_I set fire to the rain,__  
><em>_Watch it pour as I touch your face,__  
><em>_Well, it burned while I cried__  
><em>_'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name_

_I set fire to the rain,__  
><em>_And I threw us into the flames__  
><em>_Well, it felt something died__  
><em>_'Cause I knew that that was the last time__  
><em>_The last time, oh, oh!_

_Let it burn__  
><em>_Let it burn__  
><em>_Let it burn_

She continued playing, and she began to change keys as she led herself into a new song. Something felt off about her whole performance; it was as though she wasn't alone anymore. But she knew she was probably just imagining things.

_Close enough to start a war__  
><em>_All that I have is on the floor__  
><em>_God only knows what we're fighting for__  
><em>_All that I say, you always say more_

_I can't keep up with your turning tables__  
><em>_Under your thumb, I can't breathe_

_So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me__  
><em>_No, I won't rescue you, you to just desert me__  
><em>_I can't give you, what you think you gave me__  
><em>_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables__  
><em>_To turning tables_

_Under haunted skies I see ooh__  
><em>_Where love is lost, your ghost is found__  
><em>_I braved a hundred storms to leave you__  
><em>_As hard as you try, no I will never be knocked down_

_I can't keep up with your turning tables__  
><em>_Under your thumb, I can't breathe_

_So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me, no__  
><em>_I won't rescue you, you to just desert me__  
><em>_I can't give you, what you think you gave me__  
><em>_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables__  
><em>_Turning tables_

_Next time I'll be braver__  
><em>_I'll be my own savior__  
><em>_When the thunder calls for me__  
><em>_Next time I'll be braver__  
><em>_I'll be my own savior__  
><em>_Standing on my own two feet_

_I won't let you close enough to hurt me, no__  
><em>_I won't rescue you, you to just desert me__  
><em>_I can't give you, what you think you gave me__  
><em>_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables__  
><em>_To turning tables__  
><em>_Turning tables, yeah__  
><em>_Turning, oh_

Stella let out a shaky sigh as a tear rolled down her cheek. Suddenly, the loud sounds of a lone person clapping echoed through the auditorium, and Stella's head shot up, looking out into the empty hall. "Who's there?" she asked, and her voice echoed out.

A tall young man walked up onto the stage, clapping. Stella put her hand over her heart and sighed. He just looked at the piano. "I didn't know you played."

"Don't scare me like that. And how did you even know I was here?"

None other than Charlie Delgado walked up to Stella and sat down beside her on the piano bench. He smiled faintly. "When you're walking down the road and you hear a piano playing and someone singing, you figure it's one of the band members, and seeing as how most sane people are at home, I knew it was you." Stella glared at him as she propped her elbow up on the keys, pressing them down.

Charlie had been walking down the street because he wasn't getting sleepy, and when he had heard that someone was in the music hall, he knew that someone was in there. And the closer he got, he could tell exactly who was in there. That voice was so familiar, but what the voice was accompanied by baffled him a little bit. So when he went into the music hall, and peered around the corner into the music hall and saw Stella playing the piano and singing her little heart out, he knew one of two things had happened. Either she was overly stressed out, or her and Ray had had a fight.

"So I'm not sane anymore?"

Charlie sighed. "You know what I mean. But seriously, why are you here?" he asked, tracing one of his fingers over the keys.

Stella let out a sigh, throwing her head back. Charlie could see her face was tear stained, and there were still tears running down her face. "Ray and I…Ray…Ray and I…Ray basically said I was never going to be able to be in a relationship with him because we're _like fire and gasoline, we're no good for each other,_" she mimicked Ray, and then laid her head down on the piano.

Charlie didn't know whether he should comfort her or what. He had been the one that said when her and Ray broke up, not to come crying to him. But he looked at Stella and knew that she had never been that upset in her entire life. He just laid a hand over her back, and watched as her head looked up at him.

"You really don't keep your word, you know?" she whispered.

"No, technically I kept it. I said that you don't need to come crying to me when this happened. I came to you. So we're keeping our promises." Charlie explained. Stella laughed a little bit.

"You do always know how to make me smile, Delgado." Stella mumbled quietly, smiling. Charlie reached over and wiped her face with his thumb. Her face was so delicate; like a flower. Something you didn't want to destroy because it was too beautiful. _What are you saying, Charlie, Stella's just your best friend! That doesn't mean you can't call her beautiful…you know she is! You only like her as a friend!_

Stella quickly looked down, and Charlie cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about Ray."

Stella shook her head as another tear fell down her face. "Yeah…yeah, me too. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me about the whole Jules thing. I guess I was just a little…"

"In denial?" Charlie finished her sentence.

"Yeah…" Stella mouthed, as she looked up.

Stella and Charlie's eyes met, and for a moment, Charlie could feel his heart melt. He was officially taken over by those beautiful brown eyes of hers, and he had the sudden urge to lean in and kiss her. _You are NOT kissing your best friend, Charlie!_ Stella felt herself leaning in towards Charlie, and her eyes went wide and slowly closed as she felt the heat from Charlie's face grow closer to hers.

Their lips slowly met, and Charlie could feel his heart racing. _I am kissing my best friend. What the hell is wrong with me? _It was almost as though his kiss was a question; like he didn't know whether she would kiss back or not. Her lips tasted like salt from her tears and strawberries, with a faint hint of lemonade still lingering on them. He felt her softly kiss him back, and suddenly the two found themselves caught up in something that was more than just a gentle kiss. Charlie laid a hand on her thigh, and she caressed the side of his face. Stella could feel her heart slow down, and she could feel the blood pulsing through her veins trying to match that of Charlie's. Stella and Charlie pulled away for a moment, and just stared at each other. And then it hit Stella.

_I just made out with my best friend._

Charlie stood up awkwardly, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll uh…see you tomorrow at school, Stella." He turned on his heel and walked out of the auditorium, and it took everything Stella had not to run off after him and kiss him again. And as she heard the door to the auditorium slam shut, it finally hit her. She had never been in love with Ray. She had always been in love with Charlie. And she was too late.

Back at Charlie's house, he sighed and collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had been in love with Stella for awhile, but when she and Ray had their little thing going on, he decided that he was just giving up on love. All the girls he had ever loved had turned around on him and gotten a new boyfriend. But that kiss back there…he swore that he fell in love again. And he couldn't wait around this time; he had to tell her. And he intended on doing just that tomorrow after school.

**. . . . . .**

Stella sighed. She hated World History. Out of all the classes, why did that one have to be the most boring? No classes appealed to her, but this one just made her want to slap herself in the face. She had her notebook out, and instead of taking notes about World War II, she was drawing little hearts, and writing out what could have been a song. She began to tap her pencil on the desk as she silently hummed out in her head what she had written.

_I don't know but...__  
><em>_I think I maybe__  
><em>_Fallin' for you__  
><em>_Dropping so quickly__  
><em>_Maybe I should__  
><em>_keep this to myself_

_Waiting 'til I…__  
><em>_Know you better__  
><em>_I am trying…__  
><em>_Not to tell you...__  
><em>_But I want to…_

_I'm scared of what you'll say__  
><em>_So I'm hiding…__  
><em>_What I'm feeling…__  
><em>_But I'm tired of__  
><em>_Holding this inside my head_

Stella hated being in love. She always wrote songs, and even though some of them turned out pretty decent, she still found herself writing twenty-four/seven. And it slightly annoyed her. She skimmed over the page, and what was at the bottom shocked her. In cursive, she had written, '_Stella Marie Loves Charles Thomas.' _Her eyes widened and she quickly erased it. Suddenly, the bell rang, and she sighed. Thank God it was the end of the day. There were only ten more minutes before the end of the day, and she could go home and sleep.

As she walked out to her locker, for some reason, she replayed all of her and Charlie's arguments. Now that she thought about it, the two of them fought more than brother and sister. Maybe that's what made them different from other couples. _What are you saying Stella, you two are destined for being in the best friend rut forever. _Thinking about their multiple attempts to kill one another, Stella chuckled. Classic Charlie.

She opened her locker, and a piece of paper fluttered out. She bent down to pick it up, and read what was on it.

_**You were with the wrong man, Stella.**_

Stella looked at the note in confusion, and sighed, shoving it deep down into her bag. As she slammed her locker, she caught up with Mo and Olivia, who were walking through the cafeteria. The three began talking about the weekend and their plans, and suddenly, a voice came over the intercom.

"_If everyone would please report to the music hall at this time, including you Miss Yamada._" Stella's face burned as Mo and Olivia exchanged glances and just stared at Stella.

"What, I know just about as much as you do!"

The three best friends headed over to the music hall, and they walked in through the stage doors and down off the stage stairs, just to see a seat in the first row in the middle seat with yellow roses and a card that said, "Reserved for Stella Marie Yamada." Stella's face burned as Mo and Olivia grabbed Stella's arms.

"Stella!"

"I told you…I don't know!"

"Do you think Ray did this?"

"I hope not…"

"Guys, shh…do you hear that?"

The auditorium was slowly filling up as a piano started playing. Mo and Olivia quickly left Stella's side and went to hold people that were rushing in back. Stella sat down and picked up the roses and card, flipping it over.

_**Dear Stella,  
>I know you'll probably hate me after you read this and see what I'm about to do…but I'm doing it because I love you and you deserve so much better than who you were with before.<strong>_

Stella could feel tears prick her eyes, and suddenly the song she had written a long time ago with Mo about Scott was playing. Stella took a short little gasp as Charlie walked out, and a tear rolled down her cheek as he began to sing.

_The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting__  
><em>_Could it be that we have been this way before?__  
><em>_I know you don't think that I am trying__  
><em>_I know you're wearing thin down to the core_

_But hold your breath__  
><em>_Because tonight will be the night__  
><em>_That I will fall for you over again__  
><em>_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day__  
><em>_I swear it's true__  
><em>_Because a girl like you's impossible to find__  
><em>_You're impossible to find_

Stella could hear people aww-ing and she turned around to see people waving their arms from side to side, Mo and Olivia being the leaders of this little movement. When she turned around she saw Charlie smiling down at her with his hand outstretched. She took it smiling, and he twirled her around once before she began to quietly sing.

_This is not what I intended__  
><em>_I always swore to you I'd never fall apart__  
><em>_You always thought that I was stronger__  
><em>_I may have failed, but I have loved you from the start_

Everyone had heard her, and they all cheered as Charlie picked back up singing. He took one of the roses from the bouquet and tucked it in her hair.

_Ohh, but hold your breath__  
><em>_Because tonight will be the night__  
><em>_That I will fall for you over again__  
><em>_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day__  
><em>_I swear it's true__  
><em>_Because a girl like you's impossible to find__  
><em>_It's impossible_

_So breathe in so deep__  
><em>_Breathe me in, I'm yours to keep__  
><em>_And hold on to your words 'cause talk is cheap__  
><em>_And remember me tonight when you're asleep_

_Because tonight will be the night__  
><em>_That I will fall for you over again__  
><em>_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day__  
><em>_I swear it's true__  
><em>_Because a girl like you's impossible to find_

Stella was freely crying, and she knew Ray was watching the show. She wanted to just turn around and scream at him, "You see this? THIS IS WHAT LOVE IS. What I never got from you!" But she didn't. She was too happy to even have one angry bone in her body at that moment, and that was saying a lot. The last time she'd felt this level of glee was when she had kissed Charlie for the first time.

_Tonight will be the night__  
><em>_That I will fall for you over again__  
><em>_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day__  
><em>_I swear it's true__  
><em>_Because a girl like you's impossible to find__  
><em>_You're impossible to find_

Everyone applauded as Charlie whispered to her, "You're impossible to find…" Stella just laughed through her tears and flung herself into Charlie's arms, crashing her lips onto Charlie's. She could picture Ray's face in her head- contorted with shock and confusion and jealousy. And that's exactly how she wanted him to look. Because anyone who messed with her would always get the worst end of the stick, and they knew it. She pulled away and hugged Charlie, crying.

A note tumbled out of Stella's bag and onto the floor, and Charlie picked it up. He smiled and traced over where she had erased Stella Marie Loves Charles Thomas. "Why'd you erase this?"

She blushed. "Because I didn't think this was going to happen."

He sat down in a chair, and she sat down beside him, watching intently at what he was doing. He rummaged in her bag and pulled out a Sharpie. He put the part where Stella had erased her doodle and bared down on the armrest as he traced over her writing with the Sharpie. He then capped the Sharpie, and ripped what he had just written away from the song lyrics. As he folded up the lyrics and put them back at in her bag, he handed her the slip of paper.

"Now it's happened, and like this Sharpie ink, it's never going away."

Stella and Charlie pressed their foreheads together, and Stella leaned in and pecked his lips softly. She pulled away and smiled. All of the memories she had with Charlie-good and bad-flooded her mind, and suddenly, the memories of her and Ray slowly faded away into oblivion. They were gone. History. And even though history was the one thing she couldn't stand, she was actually finding a new liking for it.

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><p><strong>I'm a hopeless romantic, so say NOTHING! I'm surprised I finished this in one day…and with about an half an hour before America's Got Talent too! Is this a good day or what? I think it's a good day. Well, I hope you enjoyed this little plot bunny! It finally got to hop past the meadows and onto your computer screen. The songs used in this story are…Set Fire to the Rain by Adele, Turning Tables by Adele, Falling for You by Colbie Calliat, and Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade. By the way, I know I'm an extreme hopeless romantic…oh, I said that before? Well they say if you repeat stuff, it makes it important. And that is important. I'll shut up now! Anyways, be heard, be strong, be proud, and Stella Marie loves Charles Thomas. Love, Emzy<strong>


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